187-633: William McKendree Gwin (October 9, 1805 – September 3, 1885) was an American medical doctor and politician who served in elected office in Mississippi and California. In California he shared the distinction, along with John C. Frémont , of being the state's first U.S. senators. Before, during, and after the Civil War , Gwin was well known in California, Washington, D.C., and the Southern United States as
374-539: A "National Academy of Sciences" could be established and recommending that if Wilson were favorable, Bache, "to whom the scientific men of the country look as upon their leader…can draft in twenty four hours a complete plan for you…" On February 19, Agassiz came to Washington from Cambridge to accept appointment, upon Wilson's nomination, to the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Agassiz went directly from
561-522: A Swiss-Mexican (and later American by treaty ) immigrant and founder of the fort, received Frémont gladly and refitted his expedition party. While at Sutter's Fort, Frémont talked to American settlers, who were growing numerous, and found that Mexican authority over California was very weak. Leaving Sutter's Fort, Frémont and his men headed south along the eastern edge of the San Joaquin Valley and crossed Tehachapi Pass and Antelope Valley, struck
748-464: A bill to abolish slavery in Washington, D.C., something he had desired to do since his visit to the nation's capital 25 years earlier. At this time fugitive slaves from the war were being held in prisons of Washington, D.C., and faced the possibility of return to their owners. Wilson said of his bill that it would "blot out slavery forever from the nation's capital". The measure met bitter opposition from
935-578: A bill…to incorporate the National Academy of Sciences." The Senate passed the bill by voice vote; later that day it was sent to the House of Representatives, which passed it without comment. President Lincoln signed it into law before midnight that same day. When Andrew Johnson assumed the presidency after President Lincoln's assassination in April 1865, Senators Sumner and Wilson both hoped Johnson would support
1122-681: A biracial society, while urging African Americans and their white supporters to take a conciliatory and peaceful approach with Southern whites who had favored the Confederacy. Radicals, including Benjamin Wade , were stunned by Wilson's remarks, believing blacks should not be subject to their former white owners. At the Republican Convention , Wilson, Wade and others competed for the vice presidential nomination, and Wilson had support among Southern delegates, but he failed to win after five ballots. Wade
1309-547: A blazing trail through Nevada straight to California, having a rendezvous with his men from the split party at Walker Lake in west-central Nevada. Taking 16 men, Frémont split his party again, arriving at Sutter's Fort in the Sacramento Valley on December 9. Frémont promptly sought to stir up patriotic enthusiasm among the American settlers there. He promised that if war with Mexico started, his military force would protect
1496-459: A carriage in the early morning, Wilson brought a picnic hamper of sandwiches to feed Union troops. However, the battle turned into a Confederate rout, forcing Union troops to make a panicky retreat. Caught up in the chaos, Wilson was almost captured by the Confederates, while his carriage was crushed, and he had to make an embarrassing return to Washington on foot. The result of this battle had
1683-573: A civil government." Kearny, who had earlier trimmed his forces from 300 to 100 dragoons, based upon Kit Carson 's dispatches he was carrying to Washington, stating that Stockton and Fremont had successfully taken control of California. Unknown to Carson at this time, the Californians had revolted, which would lead Kearny to a disastrous attack on waiting Mexican lancers at the Battle of San Pasqual , losing 19 men killed and being himself seriously lanced. He
1870-566: A compromise that would avoid dissolution of the Union. Before hostilities broke out between the states, Gwin toured the South but returned to California. Here Gwin's Chivalry faction spoke on the South's behalf. Gwin even considered that it might be possible for a Republic of the Pacific, centered on California, to secede from the Union, but when his party suffered badly in the elections of 1861, he saw that there
2057-567: A conflict over who was the rightful military governor of California . His sentence was commuted, and he was reinstated by President James K. Polk , but Frémont resigned from the Army. Afterwards, he settled in California at Monterey while buying cheap land in the Sierra foothills. Gold was found on his Mariposa ranch, and Frémont became a wealthy man during the California Gold Rush . He became one of
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#17328442093742244-413: A declaration of war with Mexico was imminent. On May 9, 1846, Native Americans ambushed his expedition party in retaliation for numerous killings of Native Americans that Frémont's men had engaged in along the trail, killing three members of Frémont's party in their sleep, including a Native American who was traveling with Frémont. Frémont retaliated by attacking a Klamath fishing village named Dokdokwas
2431-482: A detachment of Osos, totaling 125 men, rode south to San Rafael , searching for Captain Joaquin de la Torre and his lancers, rumored to have been ordered by Castro to attack Sonoma, but was unable to find them. On June 28, General Castro, on the other side of San Francisco Bay, sent a row boat across to Point San Pablo on the shores of San Rafael with a message for de la Torre. Kit Carson, Granville Swift and Sam Neal rode to
2618-426: A determined Confederate sympathizer. Gwin was born near Gallatin, Tennessee . His father was Reverend James Gwin, a pioneer Methodist minister, who served under the prominent Reverend William McKendree , America's first native-born Methodist bishop and namesake of the younger Gwin. James Gwin served as a soldier on the frontier under General Andrew Jackson . William Gwin pursued classical studies and graduated from
2805-492: A dramatic life of remarkable successes and dismal failures. John Charles Frémont was born on January 21, 1813, the son of Charles Frémon, a French-Canadian immigrant school-teacher, and Anne Beverley Whiting, the youngest daughter of socially prominent Virginia planter Col. Thomas Whiting. At age 17, Anne married Major John Pryor , a wealthy Richmond resident in his early 60s. In 1810, Pryor hired Frémon to tutor his young wife Anne. Pryor confronted Anne when he found out she
2992-481: A duel, but they resolved their differences through a senatorial arbitration committee. During the 32nd and 33rd Congresses he was chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Naval Affairs . During his second term he was also a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance . While in the Senate, he secured the establishment of a mint in California, a survey of the Pacific coast, a navy yard, and station and carried through
3179-455: A duel. After an arrangement to postpone the duel, Kearny rode to Los Angeles and refused Frémont's request to join troops in Mexico. Ordered to march with Kearny's army back east, Frémont was arrested on August 22, 1847, when they arrived at Fort Leavenworth . He was charged with mutiny, disobedience of orders, assumption of powers, and several other military offenses. Ordered by Kearny to report to
3366-489: A few of the men left for California via an established southern trade route. Edward and Richard Kern joined J.H. Simpson's military reconnaissance expedition to the Navajos in 1849, and gave the American public some of its earliest authentic graphic images of the people and landscape of Arizona, New Mexico, and southern Colorado; with views of Canyon de Chelly , Chaco Canyon , and El Morro (Inscription Rock) . In 1850, Frémont
3553-409: A former Governor of Vermont , was appointed chairman of the federal commission created to settle Mexican land titles in California; he traveled to San Francisco to begin his work, and his son-in-law Trenor W. Park traveled with him. Frémont hired Park as a managing partner to oversee the day-to-day activities of the estate, and Mexican laborers to wash out the gold on his property in exchange for
3740-640: A gold mine was established. The Gwin Mine would eventually yield millions of dollars, providing him with a fortune. He also organized the Chivalry wing of the Democratic Party. Before the admission of California as a U.S. state , Gwin was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate . He served from September 10, 1850, to March 3, 1855. He was a strong advocate of Pacific expansion and in 1852 advocated
3927-519: A great deal of Mrs. Greenhow, and may have told her about the plans of Major General Irvin McDowell , which Mrs. Greenhow then conveyed to Confederate forces under Major General P. G. T. Beauregard . One Wilson biography suggests someone else—Wilson's Senate clerk Horace White—was also friendly with Mrs. Greenhow and could have leaked the invasion plan, although it is also possible that neither Wilson nor White did so. On December 16, 1861, Wilson introduced
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#17328442093744114-666: A longstanding legend of a " Buenaventura River " that flowed out the Great Basin across the Sierra Nevada. After exploring Utah Lake, Frémont traveled by way of the Pueblo until he reached Bent's Fort on the Arkansas River. In August 1844, Frémont and his party finally arrived back in St. Louis, ending the journey that lasted over one year. His wife Jessie and Frémont returned to Washington, where
4301-545: A military expedition of 300 men to capture Santa Barbara . In September, Mexican Californians unwilling to be ruled by the United States, under José María Flores , fought back and retook Los Angeles , driving out Americans. In December 1846, U.S. Brigadier General Stephen W. Kearny arrived in California under "orders from President Polk " after taking New Mexico , then to march onto "California where, "Should you conquer and take possession of California, you will establish
4488-508: A month the Senate had acted, and Arkansas was readmitted on June 22, 1868. President Ulysses S. Grant , who succeeded Johnson in 1869, was more supportive of Congressional Reconstruction, and the remaining former Confederate states that had not rejoined the Union were readmitted during his first term. Federal troops continued to be based in the former Confederate states, allowing Republicans to control state governments, and African Americans to vote and hold federal office. In 1870 Hiram Revels
4675-720: A northwest passage up the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean . President Thomas Jefferson had envisioned a Western empire, and also sent the Pike Expedition under Zebulon Pike to explore the southwest. American and European fur trappers , including Peter Skene Ogden and Jedediah Smith , explored much of the American West in the 1820s. Frémont, who would later be known as The Pathfinder , carried on this tradition of Western overland exploration, building on and adding to
4862-539: A percentage of the profits. Frémont acquired large landholdings in San Francisco, and while developing his Las Mariposas gold ranch, he lived a wealthy lifestyle in Monterey. Legal issues, however, soon mounted over property and mineral rights. Disputes erupted as squatters moved on Frémont's Las Mariposas land mining for gold. There was question whether the three mining districts on the land were public domain, while
5049-403: A plan to advance their vision of Manifest Destiny. With a keen interest in the potential of railroads, Sen. Benton had sought support from the Senate for a railroad connecting St. Louis to San Francisco along the 38th parallel, the latitude which both cities approximately share. After Benton failed to secure federal funding, Frémont secured private funding. In October 1848 he embarked with 35 men up
5236-465: A proud, reserved, restless loner who although self-disciplined, was ready to prove himself and unwilling to play by the rules. The young Frémont was considered to be "precious, handsome, and daring," having the ability of obtaining protectors. A lawyer, John W. Mitchell, provided for Frémont's early education whereupon Frémont in May 1829 entered Charleston College , teaching at intervals in the countryside, but
5423-503: A rancher, borrowing money from his father-in-law Benton and Senator John Dix to construct a house, corral, and barn. Frémont ordered a sawmill and had it shipped by the Aspinwall steamer Fredonia to Las Mariposas . Frémont was informed by Sonora Mexicans that gold had been discovered on his property. Frémont was instantly a wealthy man, a five-mile quartz vein produced hundreds of pounds of placer gold each month. In 1851 Hiland Hall ,
5610-535: A rancheria (see Sutter Buttes massacre ). In early June, believing war with Mexico to be a virtual certainty, Frémont joined the Sacramento Valley insurgents in a "silent partnership", rather than head back to St. Louis, as originally planned. On June 10, instigated by Frémont, four men from Frémont's party and 10 rebel volunteers seized 170 horses intended for Castro's Army and returned them to Frémont's camp. According to historian H. H. Bancroft, Frémont incited
5797-432: A relatively short time. This success gave rise to legends about Wilson's skill; according to one story that grew with retelling, he once attempted to make one hundred pairs of shoes without sleeping, and fell asleep with the one hundredth pair in his hand. Wilson's shoemaking experience led to the creation of the political nicknames his supporters later used to highlight his working class roots—the " Natick Cobbler " and
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5984-639: A rift between Republicans in Congress and the President. Wilson favored allowing only persons who had been loyal to the United States to serve in positions of political power in the former Confederacy, and believed that Congress, not the president, had the power to reconstruct the southern states. As a result, Wilson joined forces with the Congressmen and Senators known as Radical Republicans , those most strongly opposed to Johnson. On December 21, 1865, two days after
6171-542: A rough media campaign, while illegally naturalizing thousands of alien immigrants in Pennsylvania. Henry Wilson Henry Wilson (born Jeremiah Jones Colbath ; February 16, 1812 – November 22, 1875) was an American politician who was the 18th vice president of the United States from 1873 until his death in 1875 and a senator from Massachusetts from 1855 to 1873. Before and during the American Civil War , he
6358-574: A roughly sewn flag and formed the Bear Flag Republic , electing William Ide as their leader. The four prisoners were then taken to Frémont's camp 80 miles (130 km) away. On June 15, the prisoners and escorts arrived at Frémont's new camp on the American River, but Frémont publicly denied responsibility for the raid. The escorts then removed the prisoners south to Sutter's Fort, where they were imprisoned by Sutter under Frémont's orders. It
6545-409: A rumor that Brooks might attack Wilson in the Senate as he had attacked Sumner, Wilson told the press "I have sought no controversy, and I seek none, but I shall go where duty requires, uninfluenced by threats of any kind." The rumors proved unfounded, and Wilson continued his Senate duties without incident. The attack on Sumner took place just one day after pro-slavery Missourians killed one person in
6732-472: A sobering effect on many in the North, causing widespread realization that Union victory would not be won without a prolonged struggle. In seeking to place blame for the Union defeat, some in Washington spread rumors that Wilson had revealed plans for the Union invasion of Virginia to Washington society figure and Southern spy Rose O'Neal Greenhow . According to the story, although he was married, Wilson had seen
6919-569: A strong reputation among Republicans as a principled but practical reformer who supported African American civil rights, voting rights for women, federal education aid, regulation of businesses, and prohibition of liquor. In 1870, incumbent Vice President Schuyler Colfax , said he would not run for another term, creating the possibility of a contested nomination. In addition, some Republicans, including Grant, desired another vice presidential nominee because they believed Colfax had presidential aspirations and might endanger Grant's reelection by bolting to
7106-742: A survey of the Bering Strait . Gwin presented a bill that was approved by the Senate and the House and became the Act of March 3, 1851, which established a three-member Board of Land Commissioners to be appointed by the President for three-year terms (the period was twice extended by Congress, resulting in a five-year term). The function of the Public Land Commission was to determine the validity of Spanish and Mexican land grants in California. California Governor John Bigler turned to Gwin's rival, David Broderick , when Gwin failed to help Bigler obtain
7293-632: A tanning and leather goods manufacturing business, and before the Civil War Grant had clerked in his father's Galena, Illinois , store.) In July, in an unprecedented political party fusion influenced by Schurz, the Democrats adopted the Liberal Republican platform and endorsed that party's candidates. Grant's personal popularity proved insurmountable in the general election, and Grant and Wilson went on to overwhelmingly defeat Greeley and Brown in both
7480-526: A third expedition for Frémont. The plan for Frémont under the War Department was to survey the central Rockies, the Great Salt Lake region, and part of the Sierra Nevada. Back in St. Louis, Frémont organized an armed surveying expedition of 60 men, with Carson as a guide, and two distinguished scouts, Joseph Walker and Alexis Godey . Working with Benton and Secretary of Navy George Bancroft , Frémont
7667-423: A trade. Having met William P. Legro, a shoemaker who was willing to train him, Wilson hired himself out for five months to learn to make leather shoes called brogans . Wilson learned the trade in a few weeks, bought out his employment contract for fifteen dollars, and opened his own shop, intending to save enough money to study law. Wilson had success as a shoemaker, and was able to save several hundred dollars in
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7854-637: A united front and a fresh face for the party, the Republicans nominated Frémont for president over other candidates, and conservative William L. Dayton of New Jersey , for vice president, at their June 1856 convention held in Philadelphia. The Republican campaign used the slogan "Free Soil, Free Men, and Frémont" to crusade for free farms (homesteads) and against the Slave Power . Frémont, popularly known as The Pathfinder , however, had voter appeal and remained
8041-447: A wealthy neighbor who was a childless bachelor, vainly hoping that this gesture might result in an inheritance. Winthrop Colbath was a militia veteran of the War of 1812 who worked as a day laborer and hired himself out to local farms and businesses, in addition to occasionally running a sawmill. The Colbath family was impoverished; after a brief elementary education, at the age of 10 Wilson
8228-465: A winter passage across the mountainous west, Frémont was optimistic that a railroad along the 38th Parallel was viable and that winter travel along the line would be possible through the Rocky Mountains. In 1856, Frémont (age 43) became the first presidential candidate of the newly-formed Republican Party . The Republicans, whose party had been established in 1854, were united in their opposition to
8415-576: The 22nd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry , which he commanded as a colonel from September 27 to October 29, an honor sometimes accorded to the individual responsible for raising and equipping a regiment. After the war, he became an early member of the Pennsylvania Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States . Wilson's experience in the militia, service with
8602-466: The Bear Flag Republic , now totaling 428 men. Stockton incorporated the California Battalion into the U.S. military giving them soldiers pay. Frémont and about 160 of his troops went by ship to San Diego, and with Stockton's marines took Los Angeles on August 13. Frémont afterwards went north to recruit more Californians into his battalion. In late 1846, under orders from Stockton, Frémont led
8789-608: The Commanding General of the United States Army since 1841, said that during the session of Congress that ended in the Spring of 1861 Wilson had done more work "than all the chairmen of the military committees had done for the last 20 years." On January 27, 1862, Simon Cameron , the recently resigned Secretary of War , echoed Scott's sentiments when he said that "no man, in my opinion, in the whole country, has done more to aid
8976-674: The Free Soil Party . Having left the Whig Party, Wilson worked to build coalitions with others opposed to slavery, including Free Soilers, anti-slavery Democrats, Barnburners from New York's Democratic Party, the Liberty Party , the anti-slavery elements of the Whig Party, and anti-slavery members of the Know Nothing or Native American Party. Although Wilson's new political coalition was initially castigated by "straight party" adherents of
9163-581: The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 , believing the federal government should have no responsibility for enforcing slavery, and that once the act was repealed tensions between slavery proponents and opponents would abate, enabling those Southerners who opposed slavery to help end it in their own time. On May 22, 1856, Preston Brooks brutally assaulted Senator Charles Sumner on the Senate floor, leaving Sumner bloody and unconscious. Brooks had been upset over Sumner's Crimes Against Kansas speech that denounced
9350-740: The Kansas River on June 15, 1842, following the Platte River to the South Pass, and starting from Green River he explored the Wind River Range . Frémont climbed a 13,745-foot mountain (4,189 m), Frémont's Peak , planted an American flag, claiming the Rocky Mountains and the West for the United States. On Frémont's return trip he and his party carelessly rafted the swollen Platte River losing much of his equipment. His five-month exploration, however,
9537-659: The Kansas–Nebraska Act . After the beating, Sumner received medical treatment at the Capitol, following which Wilson and Nathaniel P. Banks , the Speaker of the House , aided Sumner to travel by carriage to his lodgings, where he received further medical attention. Wilson called the beating by Brooks "brutal, murderous, and cowardly". Brooks immediately challenged Wilson to a duel. Wilson declined, saying that he could not legally or by personal conviction participate. In reference to
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#17328442093749724-733: The Liberal Republican Party , which had formed because of opposition to charges of corruption in the Grant administration and Grant's attempted Santo Domingo annexation . The Liberal Republican convention, held in Cincinnati in April, and headed by Carl Schurz , desired to replace Grant because of corruption in his administration, end Reconstruction, and return Southern state governments to white rule. They nominated Horace Greeley for president and B. Gratz Brown for vice president. The Republican convention opened on June 5 in Philadelphia and
9911-502: The Missouri , Kansas and Arkansas rivers to explore the terrain. The artists and brothers Edward Kern and Richard Kern, and their brother Benjamin Kern, were part of the expedition, but Frémont was unable to obtain the valued service of Kit Carson as guide as in his previous expeditions. On his party's reaching Bent's Fort , he was strongly advised by most of the trappers against continuing
10098-651: The Oregon Trail , the Oregon Country , the Great Basin , and Sierra Nevada Mountains to California. Through his power and influence, Senator Benton obtained for Frémont the leadership, funding, and patronage of three expeditions. The opening of the American West began in 1804, when the Lewis and Clark Expedition (led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark ) started exploration of the new Louisiana Purchase territory to find
10285-882: The Panic of 1873 . Frémont served as Governor of the Arizona Territory from 1878 to 1881. After his resignation as governor, he retired from politics and died destitute in New York City in 1890. Historians portray Frémont as controversial, impetuous, and contradictory. Some scholars regard him as a military hero of significant accomplishment, while others view him as a failure who repeatedly defeated his own best interests. The keys to Frémont's character and personality, several historians argue, lie in his having been born "illegitimate" (to unwed parents) and in his drive for success, need for self-justification, and passive-aggressive behavior. His biographer Allan Nevins wrote that Frémont lived
10472-445: The Savannah . When Sloat learned that Frémont had acted on his own authority (thus raising doubt about a war declaration), he retired to his cabin. On July 23, Stockton mustered Frémont's party and the former Bear Flaggers into military service as the "Naval Battalion of Mounted Volunteer Riflemen" with Frémont appointed major in command of the California Battalion , which he had helped form with his survey crew and volunteers from
10659-444: The Spanish Trail at present Victorville, California and then northeast through present-day Las Vegas , through Utah and back to South Pass. Exploring the Great Basin , Frémont verified that all the land (centered on modern-day Nevada between Reno and Salt Lake City) was an endorheic , without any outlet rivers flowing towards the sea. The finding contributed greatly to a better understanding of North American geography, and disproved
10846-418: The Tenure of Office Act which led to Johnson's impeachment, Grant served as temporary Secretary of War, but then returned the Department to Radical ally Edwin M. Stanton 's control over Johnson's strong objection, making Grant a favorite to many Radicals. Wilson actually desired to be vice president. During his speech-making tour of the South, Wilson moderated his tougher Reconstruction ideology, advocating
11033-566: The USS Portsmouth , commanded by John B. Montgomery , was anchored at Sausalito . Frémont sent Lt. Gillespie to Montgomery and requested supplies including 8,000 percussion caps, 300 pounds (140 kg) of rifle lead, one keg of powder, and food provisions, intending to head back to St. Louis. On May 31, Frémont made his camp on the Bear and Feather rivers 60 miles (97 km) north of Sutter's Fort , where American immigrants ready for revolt against Mexican authority joined his party. From there he made another attack on local Native Americans in
11220-557: The United States House of Representatives while Wilson was a senator and later served in the Senate himself, believed Wilson to be the most skilled political organizer in the country. However, Wilson's reputation for personal integrity and principled politics was somewhat damaged late in his Senate career by his involvement in the Crédit Mobilier scandal . Wilson was born in Farmington, New Hampshire , on February 16, 1812, one of several children born to Winthrop and Abigail (Witham) Colbath. His father named him Jeremiah Jones Colbath after
11407-423: The adjutant general in Washington to stand for court-martial, Frémont was found innocent of mutiny , but was convicted on January 31, 1848, of disobedience toward a superior officer and military misconduct. While approving the court's decision, President James K. Polk quickly commuted Frémont's sentence of dishonorable discharge and reinstated him into the Army, due to his war services. Polk felt that Frémont
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#173284420937411594-468: The " Natick Shoemaker ". During this time Wilson read extensively and joined the Natick Debating Society, where he developed into an accomplished speaker. Wilson's health suffered as the result of the long hours he worked making shoes, and he traveled to Virginia to recuperate. During a stop in Washington, D.C., he heard Congressional debates on slavery and abolitionism , and observed African American families being separated as they were bought and sold in
11781-490: The 1840s and 1850s. While a senator during the Civil War, Wilson was considered a " Radical Republican ", and his experience as a militia general, organizer, commander of a Union Army regiment, and chairman of the Senate military committees enabled him to assist the Abraham Lincoln administration in the organization and oversight of the Union Army and Union Navy . Wilson successfully authored bills that outlawed slavery in Washington, D.C., and incorporated African Americans in
11968-447: The 1840s, he led five expeditions into the western states. During the Mexican–American War , he was a major in the U.S. Army and took control of a portion of California north of San Francisco from the short-lived California Republic in 1846. During this time, he led several massacres against indigenous peoples in California as part of the California genocide . Frémont was court-martialed and convicted of mutiny and insubordination after
12155-439: The 22nd Massachusetts, and chairmanship of the Military Affairs Committee provided him with more practical military knowledge and training than any other Senator. He made use of this experience throughout the war to frame, explain, defend and advocate for legislation on military matters, including enlistment of soldiers and sailors, and organizing and supplying the rapidly expanding Union Army and Union Navy . Winfield Scott ,
12342-419: The American public. Historians are divided in their opinions on this period of Frémont's career. Mary Lee Spence and Donald Jackson, editors of a large collection of letters by Fremont and others dating from this period, concluded that "...in the California episode, Frémont was as often right as wrong. And even a cursory investigation of the court-martial record produces one undeniable conclusion: neither side in
12529-414: The American settlers indirectly and "guardedly" to revolt. On June 14, 34 armed rebels independently captured Sonoma, the largest settlement in northern California, and forced the surrender of Colonel Mariano Vallejo , taking him and three others prisoner. The following day, the rebelling Americans, who were called Osos (Spanish for "bears") by the residents of Sonoma, amidst a brandy-filled party, hoisted
12716-489: The Arkansas, he might have succeeded. On November 25 at what is now Florence, Colorado , he turned sharply south. By the time his party crossed the Sangre de Cristo Range via Mosca Pass , they had already experienced days of bitter cold, blinding snow and difficult travel. Some of the party, including the guide Wootton, had already turned back, concluding that further travel would be impossible. Benjamin Kern and "Old Bill" Williams were killed by Ute warriors while retracing
12903-432: The Broderick faction was able to block Gwin from being re-elected senator in 1855. When the Know Nothings exploited the weakness, Broderick accepted Gwin's candidacy, and Gwin was re-elected to the United States Senate and served from January 13, 1857, to March 3, 1861. He took Joseph Heco with him to Washington, D.C. , to meet President James Buchanan . In 1858, Gwin challenged Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson to
13090-467: The California Battalion refused to join the U.S. Army. Frémont gave orders for the California Battalion not to surrender arms, rode to Monterey to talk to Kearny, and told Kearny he would obey orders. Kearny sent Col. Richard B. Mason , who was to succeed Kearny as military governor of California, to Los Angeles, both to inspect troops and to give Frémont further orders. Frémont and Mason, however, were at odds with each other and Frémont challenged Mason to
13277-468: The Chivs, who had a monopoly on federal patronage in California. Gwin accused Wilson of demagoguery, and Wilson responded by saying he would rather be thought a demagogue than a thief. Gwin then challenged Wilson to a duel; Wilson declined in the same terms he used to decline a duel with Preston Brooks. In fact neither Gwin nor Wilson wanted to follow through, and commentary about the dispute broke down along partisan lines. One pro-Gwin editorial called
13464-490: The Committee on Military Affairs. In that capacity, he oversaw action on over 15,000 War and Navy Department nominations that Abraham Lincoln submitted during the course of the war, and worked closely with him on legislation affecting the Army and Navy. In the summer of 1861, after the congressional session ended, Wilson returned to Massachusetts and recruited and equipped nearly 2,300 men in forty days. They were mustered in as
13651-508: The Democrats who remained in the Senate after those from the southern states vacated their seats to join the Confederacy, but it passed. After passage in the House, President Lincoln signed Wilson's bill into law on April 16, 1862. On July 8, 1862, Wilson drafted a measure that authorized the President to enlist African Americans who had been held in slavery and were deemed competent for military service, and employ them to construct fortifications and carry out other military-related manual labor,
13838-648: The Free Soil Party, anti-slavery Democrats , New York Barnburners , the Liberty Party , anti-slavery members of the Native American Party (Know Nothings), and anti-slavery Whigs (called Conscience Whigs ). When the Free Soil party dissolved in the mid-1850s, Wilson joined the Republican Party , which he helped found, and which was organized largely in line with the anti-slavery coalition he had nurtured in
14025-706: The Great Basin between the Rockies and the Sierras and advance Benton's dream of acquiring the West for the United States. Frémont and his party turned south along the eastern flank of the Cascades to Pyramid Lake , which he named. Staying on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, they went on south as far as present-day Minden, Nevada , reaching the Carson River on January 18, 1844. From there Frémont turned west into
14212-541: The Merced Mining Company was actively mining on Frémont's property. Since Alvarado had purchased Las Mariposas on a "floating grant", the property borders were not precisely defined by the Mexican government. Alvarado's ownership of the land was legally contested since Alvarado never actually settled on the property as required by Mexican law. All of these matters lingered and were argued in court for many years until
14399-558: The Navy Department had sent orders for Sloat and his successors to establish military rule over California. These orders, however, postdated Kearny's orders to establish military control over California. Kearny did not have the troop strength to enforce those orders, and was forced to rely on Stockton's Marines and Frémont's California Battalion until army reinforcements arrived. On February 13, specific orders were sent from Washington through Commanding General Winfield Scott giving Kearny
14586-592: The Pierce Administration and the spread of slavery into the West. Initially, Frémont was asked to be the Democratic candidate by former Virginia Governor John B. Floyd and the powerful Preston family. Frémont announced that he was for Free Soil Kansas and was against the enforcement of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law . However, Republican leaders Nathaniel P. Banks , Henry Wilson , and John Bigelow were able to get Frémont to join their political party. Seeking
14773-533: The Royal Society and the French Institute, approached Wilson with the idea of establishing such an academy. On February 11, 1863, a Permanent Commission, which comprised Admiral Charles Henry Davis and the scientists Joseph Henry and Alexander Dallas Bache, was appointed within the Navy Department and given the task of evaluating and reporting on the inventions and other ideas submitted by citizens in order to aid
14960-631: The Senate Committee on Military Affairs. Benton invited Frémont to his Washington home where he met Benton's 16-year-old daughter Jessie Benton . A romance blossomed between the two; however, Benton was initially against it because Frémont was not considered upper society. In 1841, Frémont (age 28) and Jessie eloped and were married by a Catholic priest. Initially Benton was furious at their marriage, but in time, because he loved his daughter, he accepted their marriage and became Frémont's patron. Benton, Democratic Party leader for more than 30 years in
15147-473: The Senate in 1846, served as a guide for thousands of American emigrants, depicting the entire length of the Oregon Trail . When Nicollet was too ill to continue any further explorations, Frémont was chosen to be his successor. His first important expedition was planned by Benton, Senator Lewis Linn , and other Westerners interested in acquiring the Oregon Territory. The scientific expedition started in
15334-463: The Senate that he had not meant to impugn Gwin's honor, and Gwin replied by saying that he had not meant to question Wilson's motives. In addition, the mediators caused to be removed from the Senate record both Gwin's remarks about demagoguery and Wilson's suggestion that Gwin was a thief. During the American Civil War , Wilson was Chairman of the Committee on Military Affairs and the Militia, and later
15521-553: The Senate, championed the expansionist movement, a political cause that became known as Manifest Destiny . The expansionists believed that the North American continent, from one end to the other, north and south, east and west, should belong to the citizens of the U.S. They believed it was the nation's destiny to control the continent. This movement became a crusade for politicians such as Benton and his new son-in-law. Benton pushed appropriations through Congress for national surveys of
15708-498: The Senate. Neither Heydenfeldt, nor Frémont's other second-time competitor King, were able to obtain a majority of votes, allowing Gwin to be California's lone senator. Frémont's term lasted 175 days from September 10, 1850, to March 3, 1851, and he only served 21 working days in Washington in the Senate. Pro-slavery John B. Weller , supported by the Chivs, was elected one year later to the empty Senate seat previously held by Frémont. In
15895-606: The Southern states or territories then in rebellion against the federal government. On February 2, 1863, Congress built on Wilson's 1862 law by passing a bill authored by Pennsylvania Congressman Thaddeus Stevens , which authorized the enlistment of 150,000 African Americans into the Union Army for service as uniformed soldiers. On February 17, 1863, Wilson introduced a bill that would federally fund elementary education for African American youth in Washington, D.C. President Lincoln signed
16082-648: The Supreme Court finally ruled in Frémont's favor in 1856. Although Frémont's legal victory allowed him to keep his wealth, it created lingering animosity among his neighbors. During the late 1850s, Frederick H. Billings , a partner in the Halleck, Peachy & Billings law firm that employed Park, partnered with Frémont in several successful business ventures. Billings later embarked on several trips to Europe in an unsuccessful effort to sell Frémont's Mariposa mine shares. At
16269-583: The U.S. Navy had occupied Monterey and Yerba Buena. Two days later, Frémont received a letter from Sloat, describing the capture of Monterey and ordering Frémont to bring at least 100 armed men to Monterey. Frémont would bring 160 men. On July 15, Commodore Robert F. Stockton arrived in Monterey to replace the 65-year-old Sloat in command of the Pacific Squadron. Sloat named Stockton commander-in-chief of all land forces in California. On July 19, Frémont's party entered Monterey, where he met with Sloat on board
16456-504: The U.S. Navy's Pacific Squadron , sailed into Monterey harbor with orders to seize San Francisco Bay and blockade the other California ports upon learning "without a doubt" that war had been declared. On July 5, Sloat received a message from Montgomery reporting the events in Sonoma and Frémont's involvement. Believing Frémont to be acting on orders from Washington, Sloat began to carry out his orders. Early on July 7, 225 sailors and marines on
16643-641: The Union Civil War effort in 1862. After the Civil War, he supported the Radical Republican program for Reconstruction . In 1872, Wilson was elected vice president as the running mate of Ulysses S. Grant , the incumbent president of the United States, who was running for a second term. The Grant and Wilson ticket was successful, and Wilson served as vice president from March 4, 1873, until his death on November 22, 1875. Wilson's effectiveness as vice president
16830-521: The United States Navy frigate USS Savannah and the two sloops USS Cyane and USS Levant landed and captured Monterey with no shots being fired and raised the flag of the United States. Commodore Sloat had his proclamation read and posted in English and Spanish: "... henceforth California would be a portion of the United States." On July 10, Frémont received a message from Montgomery that
17017-662: The Virginia House of Delegates refused the divorce petition, it was impossible for the couple to marry. In Savannah, Anne took in boarders while Frémon taught French and dancing. Their domestic slave , Black Hannah, helped raise young John. On December 8, 1818, Frémont's father died in Norfolk, Virginia , leaving Anne a widow to take care of John and several young children alone on a limited inherited income. Anne and her family moved to Charleston, South Carolina . Frémont, knowing his origins and coming from relatively modest means, grew up
17204-895: The Walla Walla River at the Columbia River in Oregon. Frémont's endurance, energy, and resourcefulness over the long journey was remarkable. Traveling west along the Columbia, they came within sight of the Cascade Range peaks and saw Mount St. Helens and Mount Hood . Reaching the Dalles on November 5, Frémont left his party and traveled to the Hudson’s Bay Company Fort Vancouver for supplies. Rather than turning around and heading back to St. Louis, Frémont resolved to explore
17391-500: The Washington slave trade. Wilson resolved to dedicate himself "to the cause of emancipation in America," and after regaining his health returned to New England , where he furthered his education by attending several New Hampshire academies, including schools in Strafford , Wolfeboro , and Concord . Having spent part of his savings on his traveling and schooling, and having lost some as
17578-578: The Whigs as the party attempted to compromise on the slavery issue, and as a Conscience Whig he took steps including the organization of a convention in Concord opposed to the annexation of Texas because it would expand slavery. As a result of this effort, in late 1845 Wilson and abolitionist John Greenleaf Whittier were chosen to submit in person a petition to Congress containing the signatures of 65,000 Massachusetts residents opposed to Texas annexation. Wilson
17765-672: The Whigs out of disappointment with the fiscal policies of Democrats Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren , and like most Whigs blamed them for the Panic of 1837 . In 1840 he was also elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives , and served from 1841 to 1842. Wilson was a member of the Massachusetts State Senate from 1844 to 1846 and 1850 to 1852. From 1851 to 1852 he was the Senate's President . As early as 1845, Wilson had started to become disenchanted with
17952-577: The ambassadorship to Chile . Broderick was appointed Chairman of the California Democratic Party , which split as a result. Gwin had a duel with Representative Joseph McCorkle with rifles at thirty yards following an argument over his alleged mismanagement of federal patronage. Shots were fired by both men, but only a donkey died. The split added turmoil to California's political scene, including bribery, physical intimidation, and nonstop political maneuvering. Although weaker than Gwin's faction,
18139-690: The announcement that the states had ratified the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery, Wilson introduced a bill to protect the civil rights of African Americans. Although Wilson's bill failed to pass Congress it was effectively the same bill as the Civil Rights Act of 1866 that passed Congress over Johnson's veto on April 9, 1866. The rift between the Radicals, including Wilson, and President Johnson grew as Johnson attempted to implement his more lenient Reconstruction policies. Johnson vetoed
18326-419: The authority to be military governor of California. Kearny, however, did not directly inform Frémont of these orders from Scott. Kearny ordered that Frémont's California Battalion be enlisted into the U.S. Army and Frémont bring his battalion archives to Kearny's headquarters in Monterey. Frémont delayed obeying these orders, hoping Washington would send instructions for Frémont to be military governor. Also,
18513-428: The beach to intercept the three unarmed men who came ashore, including Don José Berreyesa and the 20-year-old de Haro twin brothers Ramon and Francisco, sons of Don Francisco de Haro . The three were murdered in cold blood. Exactly who committed the murders is a point of controversy, but later accounts point to Carson acting at the behest, if not the order, of Frémont. On July 1, Commodore John D. Sloat , commanding
18700-628: The bill into law on March 3, 1863. Wilson added an amendment to the 1864 Enrollment Act which provided that formerly enslaved African Americans from slave holding states remaining in the Union who enlisted in the Union Army would be considered permanently free by action of the federal government, rather than through individual emancipation by the states or their owners, thus preventing the possibility of their re-enslavement. President Lincoln signed this measure into law on February 24, 1864, freeing more than 20,000 slaves in Kentucky alone. Wilson supported
18887-519: The bill to establish the Freedmen's Bureau , as well as other Radical measures to protect African American civil rights—measures which Wilson supported. Wilson supported the effort to impeach Johnson, saying that Johnson was "unworthy, if not criminal" in his conduct by resisting Congressional Reconstruction measures, many of which were passed over his vetoes. At the 1868 Senate trial Wilson voted for Johnson's conviction, but Republicans fell one vote short of
19074-417: The burning and sacking of Lawrence, Kansas . The attack on Sumner and the sacking of Lawrence were later viewed as two of the incidents which symbolized the "breakdown of reasoned discourse." This phrase came to describe the period when activists and politicians moved past the debate of anti-slavery and pro-slavery speeches and non-violent actions, and into the realm of physical violence, which in part hastened
19261-493: The campaign calling her Our Jessie . Jessie and the Republican propaganda machine ran a strong campaign, but she was unable to get her powerful father, Senator Benton, to support Frémont. While praising Frémont, Benton announced his support for Buchanan. Frémont, along with the other presidential candidates, did not actively participate in the campaign, and he mostly stayed home at 56 West Street, in New York City. This practice
19448-421: The casualties vary. Expedition members Thomas E. Breckenridge and Thomas S. Martin claim the number of Native Americans killed as "120–150" and "over 175" respectively, but the eyewitness Tustin claimed that at least 600–700 Native Americans were killed on land, with another 200 or more dying in the water. There are no records of any expedition members being killed or wounded in the massacre. Kit Carson , one of
19635-514: The cold and snowy Sierra Nevada, becoming one of the first Americans to see Lake Tahoe . Carson successfully led Frémont's party through a new pass over the high Sierras, which Frémont named Carson Pass in his honor. Frémont and his party then descended the American River to Sutter's Fort (Spanish: Nueva Helvetia) at present-day Sacramento, California , in early March. Captain John Sutter ,
19822-644: The controversy acquitted itself with distinction." Allan Nevins states that Kearny: Theodore Grivas wrote that "It does not seem quite clear how Frémont, an army officer, could have imagined that a naval officer [Stockton] could have protected him from a charge of insubordination toward his superior officer [Kearny]". Grivas goes on to say, however, that "This conflict between Kearny, Stockton, and Frémont perhaps could have been averted had methods of communication been what they are today." Intent on restoring his honor and explorer reputation after his court martial, in 1848, Frémont and his father-in-law Sen. Benton developed
20009-399: The delegates were in an enthusiastic mood. For the first time in party convention history, telegraph operators communicated minute-by-minute proceedings to the nation. The Republican platform supported amnesty for former Confederates, low tariffs, civil service reform, Grant's Indian Peace policy, and civil rights for African Americans. Grant was unanimously renominated on the second day, to
20196-636: The expedition trail to look for gear and survivors. Although the passes through the Sangre de Cristo had proven too steep for a railroad, Frémont pressed on. From this point the party might still have succeeded had they gone up the Rio Grande to its source, or gone by a more northerly route, but the route they took brought them to the very top of Mesa Mountain. By December 12, on Boot Mountain, it took ninety minutes to progress three hundred yards. Mules began dying and by December 20, only 59 animals remained alive. It
20383-406: The fall of 1853, Frémont embarked on another expedition to identify a viable route for a transcontinental railroad along the 38th parallel. The party journeyed between Missouri and San Francisco, California, over a combination of known trails and unexplored terrain. A primary objective was to pass through the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada Mountains during winter to document the amount of snow and
20570-777: The feasibility of winter rail passage along the route. His photographer ( daguerreotypist ) was Solomon Nunes Carvalho . Frémont followed the Santa Fe Trail , passing Bent's Fort before heading west and entering the San Luis Valley of Colorado in December. The party then followed the North Branch of the Old Spanish Trail , crossing the Continental Divide at Cochetopa Pass and continuing west into central Utah. But following
20757-424: The first step towards allowing African Americans to serve as soldiers. President Lincoln signed the amendment into law on July 17. Wilson's law paid African Americans in the military $ 10 monthly, which was effectively $ 7 a month after deductions for food and clothing, while white soldiers were paid effectively $ 14 monthly. On January 1, 1863, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation freed all slaves held in bondage in
20944-502: The first two U.S. senators elected from the new state of California in 1850. At the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861, he was given command of the Department of the West by President Abraham Lincoln . Frémont had successes during his brief tenure there, though he ran his department autocratically and made hasty decisions without consulting President Lincoln or Army headquarters. He issued an unauthorized emancipation edict and
21131-664: The following day in the Klamath Lake massacre , although the people living there might not have been involved in the first action. The village was at the junction of the Williamson River and Klamath Lake. On May 12, 1846, the Frémont group completely destroyed it, killing at least fourteen people. Frémont believed that the British were responsible for arming and encouraging the Native Americans to attack his party. Afterward, Carson
21318-568: The immediate goal to locate the source of the Arkansas River , on the east side of the Rocky Mountains. Frémont and his party struck west by way of Bent's Fort, The Great Salt Lake, and the "Hastings Cut-Off". When Frémont reached the Ogden River, which he renamed the Humboldt , he divided his party in two to double his geographic information. Upon reaching the Arkansas River, Frémont suddenly made
21505-574: The insinuation that Gwin was corrupt "a most malignant falsehood", while a pro-Wilson editorial called his reluctance to take part in a duel evidence that he was "honest" and "conscientious", and had "more respect for the laws of this country than his adversary". After several attempts to find a face-saving compromise, Gwin and Wilson agreed to refer their dispute to three senators who would serve as mediators. William H. Seward , John J. Crittenden and Jefferson Davis were chosen, and produced an acceptable solution. At their instigation, Wilson stated to
21692-423: The journey. Already a foot of snow was on the ground at Bent's Fort, and the winter in the mountains promised to be especially snowy. Part of Frémont's purpose was to demonstrate that a 38th parallel railroad would be practical year-round. At Bent's Fort, he engaged "Uncle Dick" Wootton as guide, and at what is now Pueblo, Colorado , he hired the eccentric Old Bill Williams and moved on. Had Frémont continued up
21879-471: The land had previously been owned by former California governor Juan Bautista Alvarado and his wife Martina Caston de Alvarado. Frémont had hoped that Las Mariposas was near San Francisco or Monterey, but was disappointed to learn that it was further inland, near Yosemite , on the Miwok Indians' hunting and gathering grounds. After his court martial in 1848, Frémont moved to Las Mariposas and became
22066-580: The lands between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Frémont became a first rate topographer , trained in astronomy, and geology, describing fauna, flora, soil, and water resources. Gaining valuable western frontier experience Frémont met Henry Sibley , Joseph Renville , J.B. Faribault , Étienne Provost , and the Sioux nation. Frémont's exploration work with Nicollet brought him in contact with Senator Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, powerful chairman of
22253-480: The longer Senate term while Frémont won the shorter Senate term. In Washington, Frémont, whose California ranch had been purchased from a Mexican land grantee, supported an unsuccessful law that would have rubber-stamped Mexican land grants, and another law that prevented foreign workers from owning gold claims (Fremont's ranch was in gold country), derisively called "Frémont's Gold Bill". Frémont voted against harsh penalties for those who assisted runaway slaves and he
22440-448: The loud cheers of the convention crowd. Wilson was popular among Republicans for the vice presidential nomination, with an appealing rags-to-riches story that included his rise from indentured servant to owner and operator of a successful shoe making business. On the first ballot, he defeated Colfax, who by then had become an active candidate by renouncing his 1870 pledge and informing his supporters that he would accept renomination if it
22627-461: The mainstream Democratic and Whig parties, Wilson was successful in an effort to broker an alliance between the minority Free Soil and Democratic parties in the state elections of 1850, notably resulting in the election of Charles Sumner to the Senate. From 1848 to 1851 Wilson was the owner and editor of the Boston Republican , which from 1841 to 1848 was a Whig outlet, and from 1848 to 1851
22814-625: The medical department of Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky , in 1828. As the son of a chaplain who was at the Battle of New Orleans, the young Gwin served as a personal secretary to President Andrew Jackson during the latter's second term. Gwin then practiced medicine in Clinton, Mississippi , until 1833, when he became the United States Marshal for Mississippi, serving for one year. He
23001-407: The military Governor of Mississippi . Wilson argued that Revels's skin color was not a bar to Senate service, and connected the role of the Senate to Christianity's Golden Rule of doing to others as one would have done to oneself. The Senate voted to seat Revels, and after he took the oath of office Wilson personally escorted him to his desk as journalists recorded the historic event. Prior to
23188-433: The military service should receive the same uniform, clothing, rations, medical and hospital attendance, and pay" as white soldiers, to date from January 1864. Wilson introduced a bill in Congress which would free in the Union's slave-holding states the still-enslaved families of former slaves serving in the Union Army. In advocating for passage, Wilson argued that allowing the family members of soldiers to remain in slavery
23375-455: The mounted attackers, later stated, "It was a perfect butchery." Fremont and his men eventually made their way to camp at Klamath Lake , killing Native Americans on sight as they went. On May 8, Frémont was overtaken by Lieutenant Archibald Gillespie from Washington, who gave him copies of dispatches he had previously given to Larkin. Gillespie told Frémont secret instructions from Benton and Buchanan justifying aggressive action and that
23562-497: The muddy slopes during the rainy night, his men regrouped in the foothills (behind what is today Rancho Del Ciervo) the next morning, and captured the Presidio of Santa Barbara and the town without bloodshed. A few days later, Frémont led his men southeast towards Los Angeles. Fremont accepted Andres Pico's surrender upon signing the Treaty of Cahuenga on January 13, 1847, which terminated
23749-674: The navy and was appointed second lieutenant in the U.S. Topographical Corps , surveying a route for the Charleston, Louisville, and Cincinnati railroad. Working in the Carolina mountains, Frémont desired to become an explorer. Between 1837 and 1838, Frémont's desire for exploration increased while in Georgia on reconnaissance to prepare for the removal of Cherokee Indians . When Poinsett became Secretary of War, he arranged for Frémont to assist French explorer and scientist Joseph Nicollet in exploring
23936-434: The negro soldiers almost as bad as that of the rebels at Fort Pillow . This is hardly an exaggeration." On June 15, 1864, Wilson succeeded in adding a provision to an appropriations bill which addressed the pay disparity between whites and blacks in the military by authorizing equal salaries and benefits for African American soldiers. Wilson's provision stated that "all persons of color who had been or might be mustered into
24123-405: The onset of the American Civil War . In June 1858 Wilson made a Senate speech in which he suggested corruption in the government of California and inferred complicity on the part of Senator William M. Gwin , a pro-slavery Democrat who had served as a member of Congress from Mississippi before moving to California. Gwin was backed by a powerful Southern coalition of pro-slavery Democrats called
24310-698: The party continued across the Great Basin and entered the Owens Valley near present-day Big Pine , California, on the eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Frémont journeyed south before crossing the Sierra Nevadas and entering the Kern River drainage, which he and his party then followed west into the San Joaquin Valley . Frémont arrived in San Francisco on April 16, 1854. Having completed
24497-588: The policies of the Republican Party, since Johnson, a Democrat, had been elected with Lincoln on a pro-Union ticket . After the Civil War ended with a Union Victory in May 1865, the defeated former Confederacy was ruined. It had been devastated economically and politically, and much of its infrastructure had been destroyed during the war. The opportunity was ripe for Congress and Johnson to work together on terms for Southern restoration and reconstruction. Instead, Johnson launched his own reconstruction policy, which
24684-576: The popular and electoral college votes. Wilson's nomination for Vice President had been intended to strengthen the Republican ticket, and was seen as a success. During the 1872 campaign, Wilson's reputation for honesty was marred by a September New York Sun article which indicated that he was involved in the Crédit Mobilier scandal . Wilson was one of several Representatives and Senators (mostly Republicans), including Colfax, who were offered (and possibly took) bribes of cash and discounted shares in
24871-399: The presidential election of 1868, Wilson toured the South giving political speeches. Many in the press believed Wilson was promoting himself to be the Republican presidential candidate. Wilson, however, supported the Civil War hero General Ulysses S. Grant . During Reconstruction Grant supported Republican Congressional initiatives rather than President Johnson's, and during the dispute over
25058-582: The rank of colonel . In 1846 Wilson was promoted to brigadier general as commander of the Massachusetts Militia's 3rd Brigade, a position he held until 1852. In 1852, Wilson was chairman of the Free Soil Party's national convention in Pittsburgh , which nominated John P. Hale for president and George Washington Julian for vice president. Later that year he was a Free Soil candidate for U.S. Representative , and lost to Whig Tappan Wentworth . He
25245-537: The reason, when he turned 21 he successfully petitioned the New Hampshire General Court to legally change it. He chose the name Henry Wilson, inspired either by a biography of a Philadelphia teacher or a portrait from a book on English clergymen. After trying and failing to find work in New Hampshire, in 1833 Wilson walked more than one hundred miles to Natick, Massachusetts , seeking employment or
25432-460: The result of a loan that was not repaid, Wilson worked as a schoolteacher to get out of debt and begin saving money again, intending to start a business of his own. Beginning with an investment of only twelve dollars, Wilson started a shoe manufacturing company. This venture proved successful, and he eventually employed over 100 workers. Wilson became active politically as a Whig , and campaigned for William Henry Harrison in 1840. He had joined
25619-431: The right of black men to join the uniformed services. Once African Americans were permitted to serve in the military, Wilson advocated in the Senate for them to receive equal pay and other benefits. A Vermont newspaper portrayed Wilson's position and enhanced his nationwide reputation as an abolitionist by editorializing "Henry Wilson of Massachusetts, in a speech in the U.S. Senate on Friday, said he thought our treatment of
25806-481: The second expedition, due to his proven skills, and he joined Frémont's party on the Arkansas River. Unable to find a new route through Colorado to the South Pass, Frémont took to the regular Oregon Trail, passing the main body of the great migration of 1843. His party stopped to explore the northern part of the Great Salt Lake , then traveling by way of Fort Hall and Fort Boise to Marcus Whitman 's mission on
25993-578: The senate a bill providing for a line of steamers between San Francisco, China, and Japan by way of the Sandwich Islands . By 1860, he was advocating the purchase of Alaska from the Russian Tsar . Although the new Republican Party won several important urban contests in California, Gwin's wing of the Democratic Party did very well in the California elections of 1859. After the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, Gwin helped to organize abortive secret discussions between Lincoln's new Secretary of State , William H. Seward , and some southern leaders to find
26180-433: The settlers. Frémont went to Monterey, California , to talk with the American consul, Thomas O. Larkin , and Mexican commandant Jose Castro , under the pretext of gaining fuller supplies. In February 1846, Frémont reunited with 45 men of his expedition party near Mission San José , giving the United States a relatively strong military presence in California. Castro and Mexican officials were suspicious of Frémont and he
26367-404: The start of the American Civil War , Billings acted as Frémont's agent when Frémont took the initiative to purchase arms in England for use by Union troops. On November 13, 1849, General Bennet C. Riley , without Washington approval, called for a state election to ratify the new California State constitution. On December 20 , the California legislature voted to seat two senators to represent
26554-482: The state in the Senate. The front-runner was Frémont, a Free Soil Democrat , known for being a western hero, and regarded by many as an innocent victim of an unjustified court-martial. The other candidates were T. Butler King , a Whig, and William Gwin , a Democrat. Frémont won the first Senate seat, easily having 29 out of 41 votes and Gwin, having Southern backing, was elected to the second Senate seat, having won 24 out of 41 votes. By random draw of straws, Gwin won
26741-441: The summer of 1842 and was to explore the Wind River of the Rocky Mountains , examine the Oregon Trail through the South Pass , and report on the rivers and the fertility of the lands, find optimal sites for forts, and describe the mountains beyond in Wyoming. By chance meeting, Frémont was able to gain the valuable assistance of mountain man and guide Kit Carson . Frémont and his party of 25 men, including Carson, embarked from
26928-422: The summer of 1843. The more ambitious goal this time was to map and describe the second half of the Oregon Trail, find an alternate route to the South Pass, and push westward toward the Pacific Ocean on the Columbia River in Oregon Country. Frémont and his almost 40 well-equipped men left the Missouri River in May after he controversially obtained a 12-pound howitzer cannon in St. Louis. Frémont invited Carson on
27115-495: The symbol of the Republican Party. The Democratic Party nominated James Buchanan . Frémont's wife Jessie, Bigelow, and Issac Sherman ran Frémont's campaign. As the daughter of a senator, Jessie had been raised in Washington, and she understood politics more than Frémont. Many treated Jessie as an equal political professional, while Frémont was treated as an amateur. She received popular attention much more than potential First Ladies, and Republicans celebrated her participation in
27302-477: The trail was made difficult by snow cover. On occasion, they were able to detect evidence of Captain John Gunnison 's expedition, which had followed the North Branch just months before. Weeks of snow and bitter cold took its toll and slowed progress. Nonessential equipment was abandoned and one man died before the struggling party reached the Mormon settlement of Parowan in southwestern Utah on February 8, 1854. After spending two weeks in Parowan to regain strength,
27489-417: The train to Bache's house, where he met with Bache, Wilson, and the scientists Benjamin Apthorp Gould and Benjamin Peirce. Working from plans laid out by Bache and Davis, the group drafted a bill for the establishment of a National Academy of Sciences, to be put before Congress. On February 20, Wilson introduced the bill in the Senate. Just before adjournment on March 3, 1863, Wilson asked the Senate "to take up
27676-433: The two wrote a second report, scientific in detail, showing the Oregon Trail was not difficult to travel and that the Northwest had fertile land. The Senate and House each ordered the printing of 10,000 copies to be distributed to the press and public, used to promote the cause of national expansion. With the backdrop of an impending war with Mexico, after James K. Polk had been elected president, Benton quickly organized
27863-399: The two-thirds majority needed to remove Johnson from office. (With 36 "guilty" votes needed for removal, the Senate results were 35 to 19 on all three post-trial ballots.) On May 27, 1868, Wilson spoke before the Senate to forcefully advocate the readmission of Arkansas. Taking the lead on this issue, Wilson urged immediate action, saying that the new state government was constitutional, and
28050-404: The war department in preparing the mighty [Union] army now under arms than yourself [Wilson]." In July 1861, Wilson was present for the Civil War's first major battle at Bull Run Creek in Manassas, Virginia , an event which many senators, representatives, newspaper reporters, and Washington society elite traveled from the city to observe in anticipation of a quick Union victory. Riding out in
28237-425: The war effort. The establishment of the Permanent Commission prompted Davis to suggest that "the whole plan, so long entertained, of the Academy could be successfully carried out if an act of incorporation were boldly asked for in the name of some of the leading men of science, from different parts of the country." Just prior to the establishment of the Permanent Commission, Agassiz had written to Wilson suggesting that
28424-493: The war in upper California. It was at this time Kearny ordered Frémont to join his military dragoons, but Frémont refused, believing he was under authority of Stockton. On January 16, 1847, Commodore Stockton appointed Frémont military governor of California following the Treaty of Cahuenga , and then left Los Angeles. Frémont functioned for a few weeks without controversy, but he had little money to administer his duties as governor. Previously, unknown to Stockton and Frémont,
28611-654: The work of earlier pathfinders to expand knowledge of the American West. Frémont's talent lay in his scientific documentation, publications, and maps made based on his expeditions, making the American West accessible for many Americans. Beginning in 1842, Frémont led five western expeditions, however, between the third and fourth expeditions, Frémont's career took a fateful turn because of the Mexican–American War . Frémont's initial explorations, his timely scientific reports, co-authored by his wife Jessie, and their romantic writing style, encouraged Americans to travel West. A series of seven maps produced from his findings, published by
28798-437: Was indentured to a neighboring farmer, where he worked as a laborer for the next 10 years. During this time two neighbors gave him books and Wilson enhanced his meager education by reading extensively on English history, American history and biographies of famous historical figures. At the end of his service he was given "six sheep and a yoke of oxen ." Wilson immediately sold his animals for $ 85 (about $ 2,200 in 2021), which
28985-484: Was a "burning shame to this country ... Let us hasten the enactment ... that, on the forehead of the soldier's wife and the soldier's child, no man can write "Slave". President Lincoln signed the measure into law on March 3, 1865, and an estimated 75,000 African American women and children were freed in Kentucky alone. In early 1863, Louis Agassiz , one of a group of Cambridge, Massachusetts scientists interested in establishing an academy of sciences modeled on
29172-442: Was a United States senator from California and was the first Republican nominee for president of the U.S. in 1856 and founder of the California Republican Party when he was nominated. He lost the election to Democrat James Buchanan when the vote was split by Know Nothings . A native of Georgia , he attended the College of Charleston for two years until he was expelled after irregular attendance. He opposed slavery . In
29359-457: Was a delegate to the 1848 Whig National Convention , but left the party after it nominated slave owner Zachary Taylor for president and took no position on the Wilmot Proviso , which would have prohibited slavery in territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican–American War . Wilson and Charles Allen , another Massachusetts delegate, withdrew from the convention, and called for a new meeting of anti-slavery advocates in Buffalo , which launched
29546-406: Was a delegate to the state constitutional convention in 1853, which proposed a series of political and governmental reforms that were defeated by voters in a post-convention popular referendum. He ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Massachusetts as a Free Soil candidate in 1853 and 1854, but declined to be a candidate again in 1855 because he had his sights set on the U.S. Senate. In 1855 Wilson
29733-490: Was a leading Republican , and a strong opponent of slavery . Wilson devoted his energies to the destruction of " Slave Power ", the faction of slave owners and their political allies which anti-slavery Americans saw as dominating the country. Originally a Whig , Wilson was a founder of the Free Soil Party in 1848. He served as the party chairman before and during the 1852 presidential election . Wilson worked diligently to build an anti-slavery coalition, which came to include
29920-403: Was a success, returning to Washington in October. Frémont and his wife Jessie wrote a Report of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains (1843), which was printed in newspapers across the country; the public embraced his vision of the west not as a place of danger but wide open and inviting lands to be settled. Frémont's successful first expedition led quickly to a second; it began in
30107-464: Was also unable to win the convention vote, and Wilson's delegates eventually switched their votes to Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax , who won the nomination and went on to win the general election with Grant at the head of the ticket. After Grant and Colfax won the 1868 election Wilson declined to serve as Secretary of War in Grant's cabinet due to his desire to spend more time with Mrs. Wilson during her lengthy final illness. In 1872 Wilson had
30294-413: Was at this time Frémont began signing letters as "Military Commander of U.S. Forces in California". On June 24, Frémont and his men, upon hearing that Californio (people of Spanish or Mexican descent) Juan N. Padilla had captured, tortured, killed, and mutilated the bodies of two Osos and held others prisoner, rode to Sonoma, arriving on June 25. On June 26, Frémont, his own men, Lieutenant Henry Ford and
30481-405: Was awarded the Patron's Medal by the Royal Geographical Society for his various exploratory efforts. On February 10, 1847, Frémont purchased a 70-square-mile parcel of land in the Sierra foothills through land speculator Thomas Larkin for $ 3,000 ($ 83,177 in 2023). Known as Las Mariposas (Spanish for "The Butterflies"), an allusion to the great number of Monarch butterflies found there,
30668-448: Was composed of loyal Southerners, African Americans who were formerly enslaved, and Northerners who had moved south. Wilson said he would not agree to Congressional adjournment until all Southern states with reconstructed governments loyal to the United States that adopted new constitutions were readmitted. The New York Tribune called Wilson's speech "strong" and said that Wilson steered the Senate away from "legal hair-splitting". Within
30855-413: Was countermanded by President Andrew Johnson . Gwin retired to California and engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death in New York City in 1885. He was interred at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California . John C. Fr%C3%A9mont Major-General John Charles Frémont (January 21, 1813 – July 13, 1890) was a United States Army officer, explorer, and politician. He
31042-582: Was destroyed in the war and Gwin, a daughter, and son fled to Paris. In 1864, he attempted to interest Napoleon III in a project to settle American slave owners in Sonora , Mexico. Despite a positive response from Napoleon, the idea was rejected by his protégé, Maximilian I , who feared that Gwin and his southerners would take Sonora for themselves. After the war, he returned to the United States and gave himself up to Major General Philip Sheridan in New Orleans . Sheridan granted his original request for release to rejoin his family, which had also returned, but
31229-473: Was elected as a Democrat from Mississippi to the 27th Congress of 1841 to 1843. Declining a renomination for Congress on account of financial embarrassment, he was appointed, on the accession of James K. Polk to the Presidency, to superintend the building of the new custom-house at New Orleans, Louisiana . He moved to California in 1849 and participated in the 1849 California Constitutional Convention . He also purchased property in Paloma, California , where
31416-459: Was elected to the United States Senate by a coalition of Free-Soilers , Know Nothings , and anti-slavery Democrats , filling the vacancy caused by the resignation of Edward Everett . He had briefly joined the Know-Nothings in an attempt to strengthen their anti-slavery efforts, but aligned himself with the Republican Party at its creation, formed largely along the lines of the anti-slavery coalition Wilson had helped develop and nurture. Wilson
31603-425: Was elected to the U.S. Senate by the reconstructed Mississippi Legislature . Revels was the first African American elected to the Senate, and Senate Democrats attempted to prevent him from being seated. Wilson defended Revels's election, and presented as evidence of its validity signatures from the clerks of the Mississippi House of Representatives and Mississippi State Senate , as well as that of Adelbert Ames ,
31790-405: Was expelled for irregular attendance in 1831. Frémont, however, had been grounded in mathematics and natural sciences. Frémont attracted the attention of eminent South Carolina politician Joel R. Poinsett , an Andrew Jackson supporter, who secured Frémont an appointment as a teacher of mathematics aboard the sloop USS Natchez , sailing the South American seas in 1833. Frémont resigned from
31977-415: Was guilty of disobeying orders and misconduct, but he did not believe Frémont was guilty of mutiny. Additionally, Polk wished to placate Thomas Hart Benton , a powerful senator and Frémont's father-in-law, who felt that Frémont was innocent. Frémont, only gaining a partial pardon from Polk, resigned his commission in protest and settled in California. Despite the court-martial, Frémont remained popular among
32164-444: Was having an affair with Frémon. Anne and Frémon fled to Williamsburg on July 10, 1811, later settling in Norfolk, Virginia , taking with them household slaves Anne had inherited. The couple later settled in Savannah, Georgia , where she gave birth to their son Frémont out of wedlock. Pryor published a divorce petition in the Virginia Patriot and charged that his wife had "for some time past indulged in criminal intercourse". When
32351-416: Was in favor of abolishing the slave trade in the District of Columbia. Democratic pro-slavery opponents of Frémont, called the Chivs, strongly opposed Frémont's re-election, and endorsed Solomon Heydenfeldt . Rushing back to California hoping to thwart the Chivs, Frémont started his own election newspaper, the San Jose Daily Argus , however, to no avail, he was unable to get enough votes for re-election to
32538-456: Was later reinforced when Stockton sent troops to drive off Pio Pico and his forces. It was at this time a dispute began between Stockton and Kearny over who had control of the military, but the two managed to work together to stop the Los Angeles uprising . Frémont led his unit over the Santa Ynez Mountains at San Marcos Pass in a rainstorm on the night of December 24, 1846. Despite losing many of his horses, mules and cannons, which slid down
32725-434: Was limited after he suffered a debilitating stroke in May 1873, and his health continued to decline until he was the victim of a fatal stroke while working in the United States Capitol in late 1875. Throughout his career, Wilson was known for championing causes that were unpopular, including workers' rights for both blacks and whites and the abolition of slavery. Massachusetts politician George Frisbie Hoar , who served in
32912-610: Was little more that he could do in California to promote that cause. Gwin returned east to New York on the same ship as Edwin Vose Sumner , commander of the Union Army 's Department of the Pacific . Sumner organized Gwin's arrest along with two other secessionists, John Slidell (soon after involved in the Trent Affair ) and J.L. Brent. However, President Abraham Lincoln intervened for their release, wishing to avoid an international incident, as Gwin had friends in Panama. Gwin sent his wife and one of his daughters to Europe, while he returned to his plantation in Mississippi. The plantation
33099-488: Was nearly killed by a Klamath warrior. As Carson's gun misfired, the warrior drew to shoot a poison arrow; however, Frémont, seeing that Carson was in danger, trampled the warrior with his horse. Carson felt that he owed Frémont his life. A few weeks later, Frémont and his armed militia returned to California. Having reentered Mexican California headed south, Frémont and his army expedition stopped off at Peter Lassen 's Ranch on May 24, 1846. Frémont learned from Lassen that
33286-453: Was not until December 22 that Frémont acknowledged that the party needed to regroup and be resupplied. They began to make their way to Taos in the New Mexico Territory . By the time the last surviving member of the expedition made it to Taos on February 12, 1849, 10 of the party had died and been eaten by the survivors. Except for the efforts of member Alexis Godey, another 15 would have been lost. After recuperating in Taos, Frémont and only
33473-470: Was offered. The Republicans believed Wilson's nomination, as a politician of integrity coming from the anti-slavery movement, would outflank the anti-corruption argument of the Liberal Republicans, who counted Sumner among their members. Both Grant and his new running mate Wilson were idealized by Republican posters, which depicted Grant "the Galena Tanner " and Wilson "the Natick Shoemaker" carrying tools and wearing workmen's aprons. (Grant's father operated
33660-401: Was ordered to leave the country. Frémont and his men withdrew and camped near the summit of what is now named Fremont Peak . Frémont raised the United States Flag in defiance of Mexican authority. After a four-day standoff and Castro having a superior number of Mexican troops, Frémont and his men went north to Oregon, bringing about the Sacramento River massacre along the way. Estimates of
33847-543: Was reelected as a Republican in 1859, 1865 and 1871, and served from January 31, 1855, to March 3, 1873, when he resigned in order to begin his vice presidential term on March 4. In his first Senate speech in 1855, Wilson continued to align himself with the abolitionists, who wanted to immediately end slavery in the United States and its territories. In his speech, Wilson said he wanted to abolish slavery "wherever we are morally and legally responsible for its existence", including Washington, D.C., Wilson also demanded repeal of
34034-460: Was relieved of his command for insubordination by Lincoln. After a brief service tenure in the Mountain Department in 1862, Frémont resided in New York, retiring from the army in 1864. He was nominated for president in 1864 by the Radical Democracy Party , a breakaway faction of abolitionist Republicans, but he withdrew before the election. After the Civil War, he lost much of his wealth in the unsuccessful Pacific Railroad in 1866, and he lost more in
34221-416: Was secretly told that if war started with Mexico he was to turn his scientific expedition into a military force. President Polk, who had met with Frémont at a cabinet meeting, was set on taking California. Frémont desired to conquer California for its beauty and wealth, and would later explain his very controversial conduct there. On June 1, 1845, Frémont and his armed expedition party left St. Louis having
34408-445: Was seen as more lenient to former Confederates, and excluded African American citizenship. When Congress opened the session which began in December 1865, Johnson's policy included a demand for admission of Southern Senators and Representatives, nearly all Democrats, including many former Confederates. Congress, still in Republican hands, responded by refusing to allow the Southern Senators and Representatives to take their seats, beginning
34595-439: Was the first money he had earned during his indenture. Wilson apparently did not like his birth name, though the reasons given vary. Some sources indicate that he was not close to his family, or disliked his name because of his father's supposed intemperance and modest financial circumstances. Others indicate that he was called "Jed" and "Jerry," and disliked the nicknames so much that he resolved to change his name. Whatever
34782-420: Was the main Free Soil Party newspaper. During his service in the Massachusetts legislature, Wilson took note that participation in the state militia had declined, and that it was not in a state of readiness. In addition to undertaking legislative efforts to provide uniforms and other equipment, in 1843 Wilson joined the militia himself, becoming a major in the 1st Artillery Regiment, which he later commanded with
34969-433: Was typical in presidential campaigns of the 19th century. To win the presidency, the Republicans concentrated on four swing states, Pennsylvania , New Jersey, Indiana , and Illinois . Republican luminaries were sent out decrying the Democratic Party's attachment to slavery and its support of the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. The experienced Democrats, knowing the Republican strategy, also targeted these states, running
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